According to reports, President Joe Biden did not worry that he “broke royal protocol” by patting King Charles III on the back during their meeting at Windsor Castle.
The president and King Charles met formally for the first time since the British monarch’s coronation on Monday, July 10.
Charles greeted Biden outside his car during the reunion, and the two shook hands before going up to a platform to see a band perform the national anthems of each country. During the discussion, Biden was spotted putting his hand on the ruler’s back at one point. As etiquette experts have previously advised against initiating “personal physical contact with a member of the royal family” unless they do so first, the action sparked speculation that the US president had broken royal protocol.
It’s best to avoid making direct physical contact with a royal family member. Once again, it’s possible that they offered to embrace you or put their arm around you, but you should typically wait and see what’s anticipated or acceptable for the situation, according to Lucy Hume, the associate director at Debrett’s, a business that provides professional coaching services and was established in 1769. Nevertheless, a source close to the Buckingham Palace told People that Charles was “entirely comfortable” with Biden’s gesture, despite the supposed procedural violation.
The source remarked, “What a wonderful symbol of warmth and affection it was between the individuals and their nations.”
The source then clarified to CNN: “Contrary to some reports, that is, in fact, the correct protocol.” The Palace source allegedly refuted claims that Biden again violated protocol by moving ahead of the King when the Guard of Honor was being inspected. Biden was observed strolling a few feet in ahead of the King as the president and monarch walked beside the Welsh Guards on the grounds of Windsor Castle. When Biden paused to converse with a member of the Guards, the British monarch appeared to move the president onward.
However, the Palace source claims that Biden’s decision to stroll in front of the King was also not improper. The statement followed criticism of the former president Donald Trump, who during a 2018 visit to Windsor Castle took a few steps ahead of the late Queen. Trump was accused of breaking a “royal no-no” at the time by The New York Times for walking in front of the Queen. There are no mandatory norms of behavior while meeting the queen or another member of the royal family, although many individuals “wish to observe the traditional forms,” according to the royal family’s official website.
Men should bow their heads merely, while women should do a slight curtsy. Some folks simply like the traditional handshake,” the website reads.
The explanation of Biden’s hand placement follows similar controversy that Michelle Obama encountered in 2009 when she put her arm around the Queen at Buckingham Palace during her first royal visit as first lady.
Obama subsequently reflected on the incident in her 2018 memoir Becoming, saying that she didn’t realize she had made “what would be deemed as an epic faux pas” until after the fact. “I daresay the Queen was okay with it, too, because when I touched her, she only pulled closer, resting a gloved hand lightly on the small of my back,” she continued.
Though she hadn’t “done the right thing,” she said that she had “at least done the human thing” at the moment.
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With so many dire situations happening at home and around the globe, I can’t believe people are melting down over something so inane. I don’t like Biden. At all. I think he’s evil, a liar of the first order, and the worst thing that ever happened to America, but this is the biggest “so what” of the year. It’s every bit as desperate an attempt at finding pearl-clutching reasons to criticize him as all those insane reasons for trying to impeach Trump. I thought we were better than that. Sheesh.
Big ado about nothing. These two know each others for decades and I am sure they had dispense of protocol since last century.
Anyway in comparison to the last sad criminal excuse we had as president, whiny Prince Orange of Scamalot, Biden is a refreshing wind of propriety
Bidfuck with his small vocabulary doesn’t know what protocol even means.
People forget that President Biden heads the largest and most influential country in the world. King Charles was no doubt pleased to greet someone who is more than his equal and a friendly pat never hurt anyone except to make the situation warmer and friendlier between both parties. What a big ado about nothing,